
JOSEP PLANELLS SCHIAFFINO
JOSEP PLANELLS SCHIAFFINO
Composer & Conductor
biography
Josep Planells Schiaffino is a composer and conductor who has collaborated with numerous ensembles and orchestras, including the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Basel Sinfonietta, Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, Sächsische Bläserphilharmonie, Bayerisches Landesjugendorchester, Danubia Orchestra Óbuda,Orquesta Nacional de España, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, Orquestra de València, Real Filharmonía de Galicia, Orquestra Simfònica de Les Illes Balears, Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Mosaik, Zafraan Ensemble, Remix Ensemble, and the Kritisches Orchester. His works and performances have been featured at major venues and festivals such as the Theater Basel, Kölner Philharmonie, Fondation Royaumont, Lucerne Festival, Slovenian Philharmonic, Rudolf-Oetker-Halle, Bockenheimer Depot, Frankfurt LAB, Teatre Principal de Palma, Palau de la Música Catalana, Auditorio Nacional de España, Palau de la Música de València, Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Casa da Música Porto, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Fundación Juan March, Palau de Les Arts, and the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik.
His music has received numerous awards, including the Roche Young Commission from the Lucerne Festival, New Scenes IV from the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the DAAD Prize, 1st Prize “Vorhof der Völker” in Berlin, 3rd Prize in the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Hochschulwettbewerb, and 1st Prize in the INJUVE Competition. He has received commissions from institutions such as INTERAKTION Conducting Workshop, Zafraan Ensemble, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Orquesta Nacional de España, INAEM, Sigma Project, VibrArt, Trio Musicalis, CNDM, and the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, where he was composer-in-residence as part of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes program. From 2022 to 2024, he was composer-in-residence of the Jove Orquestra de la Generalitat Valenciana.
As a conductor, Planells Schiaffino has worked extensively in opera, assisting Franck Ollu in productions of Rihm’s Jakob Lenz at the Staatsoper Berlin (Dir. Andrea Breth), Dusapin’s Medea at the Salzburg Festspiele, Macbeth Underworld at the Opéra Comique Paris (Dir. Thomas Jolly), and Xenakis’ Oresteia at the Theater Basel (Dir. Calixto Bieito), where he made his operatic debut in April 2017, conducting two performances. He studied conducting with Fred Buttkewitz in Berlin and participated in masterclasses with Peter Rundel in Porto and Peter Eötvös in Budapest and Munich. In 2015, he won 1st Prize for Interpretation at the Hanns Eisler Competition, and in 2019, he worked with Matthias Pintscher and Heinz Holliger as part of the Lucerne Festival Conducting Fellowship.
In recent years, he has collaborated regularly with Ensemble Modern, participating in projects such as Story Water (Emanuel Gat Dance) and Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company meets Ensemble Modern (Jacopo Godani). In 2020, he made his Spanish opera debut conducting Die Zauberflöte at the Teatre Principal in Palma de Mallorca (co-produced with Opera Zuid Maastricht). Since 2022, he has worked regularly at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, making his debut in its Foyer Series during the 2021-22 season with the premiere of Entre los árboles by José Río Pareja. In 2023, he assisted Josep Pons in the award-winning production of Parsifal (Dir. Claus Guth), and in 2024 he collaborated with Pierre Bleuse on the premiere of Orgia by Hèctor Parra (Dir. Calixto Bieito). That same season, he made his conducting debut at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin.
Born in Valencia in 1988, Planells Schiaffino earned his Clarinet Diploma from the Conservatori Superior de Música “Joaquín Rodrigo” and completed his Composition Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees under Arnulf Hermann and Hanspeter Kyburz at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” Berlin. He also attended masterclasses with Salvatore Sciarrino, Brian Ferneyhough, and Wolfgang Rihm and received scholarships from institutions including the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes, Förderverein of the HfM “Hanns Eisler”, La Caixa/DAAD, the State of Berlin’s “Elsa-Neumann-Scholarship”, and the Peter Eötvös Foundation. He completed a PhD at the University of Cambridge, supervised by Richard Causton and funded by an Honorary Vice-Chancellor’s Award from the Cambridge Commonwealth, European & International Trust and a Pigott Doctoral Studentship.
During the 2021-22 academic year, he was Guest Professor of Composition at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC), and since 2023, he has conducted various symphonic and operatic projects at the Conservatori del Liceu. He has also given lectures at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Castilla y León, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and the University of Cambridge.
CURRENT PROJECTS
La Invención de Morel
I have been awarded a 'Beca Leonardo' from the BBVA Foundation to compose a chamber opera based on Adolfo Bioy Casares' novel 'The Invention of Morel'. It will be my second opera after Aufbruch, premiered in 2019 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Reina Sofía Award of the Ferrer-Salat Music Foundation
The jury, chaired by Philippe Manoury, has awarded the XLII Reina Sofía Award to the work Metalepsis. The world premiere will take place on October 17, performed by the RTVE Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Christoph König at the Teatro Monumental in Madrid.
Les Siècles
Assistant Conductor to Franck Ollu. Program includes Boulez's Pli selon Pli, Éclat-Multiples and Debussy's La Mer. Concerts in Paris (Champs Elysées), Munich (Prinzregentheater), Bucarest (Ateneum) and Berlin (Philharmonie).
The Cunning Little Vixen
Assistant Conductor to Josep Pons (Dir: Barrie Kosky).
20-30 September 2025, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona.
Fate cuore, amici; veggo terra (WP)
Commissioned by ENSEMS. Juan Pérez Floristán, piano.
27 September 2025, Palau de Les Arts , València.
Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla
Works by Franz Joseph Haydn. Álvaro Lozano Cames, Cello.
9 October 2025, Teatro de la Maestranza, Sevilla.
Der fliegende Holländer
Richard Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer
Der Holländer: José Antonio López
Senta: Maribel Ortega
Daland: Carlo Colombara
Erik: José Ansaldi
Mary: Elisabeth Gillming
Steuermann: Jorge Juan Morata
Stage Director: Emilio López
Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès & Cor Amics de l'Òpera de Sabadell
Performances in 2025:
28 & 30 November, 2 December at Teatre La Faràndula, Sabadell
4 December at Teatre Fortuny, Reus
7 December at Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona
9 December at Teatre L'Atlàntida, Vic
Contrafactum: de Cabanilles (WP)
World Premiere of the complete cycle. Commissioned by ROSS.
Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, Teresa Ribeiro Böhm (cond.).
4 & 5 December 2025, Teatro de la Maestranza, Sevilla.
Joven Orquesta Nacional de España
Assistant Conductor to Jonathan Nott. Program includes Liszt's Mephisto Waltz No. 1, Shostakovich's Symphoy No. 5 and my own Metalepsis.
January 2026. Concerts at Auditorio de Zaragoza, Palau de la Música de València, Palacio de Congresos de Toledo, and Auditorio Nacional de España (Madrid).
Arlecchino
Ensemble Sonido Extremo, Jordi Francés (cond.).
2 February 2026, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.
Orquestra Simfònica Conservatori Liceu
Program includes Gustav Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Johannes Brahms's Symphnoy No.4.
13 February 2026, Main Hall, Liceu Conservatory, Barcelona.
Liceu XXI
Program to be confirmed.
19 February 2026, Main Hall, Liceu Conservatory, Barcelona.
Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España
Program includes Johannes Brahms's Schicksalslied and Symphnoy No.4.
29 March 2026, Auditorio Nacional, Madrid.
Klangforum Wien
Program includes Georg Friedrich Haas's Hommage à Bridget Riley and Mauricio Sotelo's Homenaje a G. F. Haas (WP).
25 May 2026, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.
compositions
OPERA
La invención de Morel
2021-
Work in progress
Aufbruch
2019
chamber opera in 13 scenes after a libretto of Deborah Kötting
for soprano (Violetta), tenor (Friedrich), baritone (Hans), 2 dancers, 2 actors and ensemble
(1/1/1/1 - 1/1/1/1 - Perc(2) - Pno/Hp - 2/1/1/1)
Duration: 50'
ORCHESTRA
Atlas Mnemosyne
2024
(4/3/4/3 - 4/4/3/1 - Timp/Perc (5) – Pno(Cel)/2Hp/Org - Chorus (SATB) - 16/14/12/10/8)
Duration: 23'30''
Contrafactum: de Cabanilles
2023/2025
(2/2/2/2 - 2/2/2/0 - Perc (3) - Cel/Hp - 8/8/6/4/3)
Duration: 13'
Con sprezzatura
2020
(2/2/2/2 - 2/2/2/1 - Timp/Perc (2) – Pno/Cel/Acc/Hp - 6/6/4/4/2)
Duration: 17'30''
Torna
2019
(4/3/4/3 - 4/3/3/1 - Timp/Perc (4) – Pno/Cel/Hp - 14/12/10/8/6)
Duration: 16'30''
Schlussformen
2015
(3/3/3/3 - 4/3/3/1 - Timp/Perc (2) – Hp - 12/10/8/6/4)
Duration: 15'
Variationen
2011
(2/2/2/2 - 2/2/2/0 - Timp/Perc (2) – 12/10/8/6/4)
Duration: 12'
ENSEMBLE
Arlecchino
2024
for 6 musicians (A.Fl/B.Cl/T.Sax/Vl/Vc/Pno)
Duration: 8'
Nu
2021
for 10 musicians (1/0/1/0 - 0/1/1/0 - 2 Perc -Cel- 1/0/1/1)
Duration: 8'30''
Vergessensformen
2016
for ensemble (1/1/1/1 - 1/0/0/0 - Perc - 2/1/1/1)
Duration: 9'
Vier Stücke
2014
for 11 musicians (0/2/0/0 - 1/1/0/0 - Timp – 2/1/2/1)
Duration: 8'30''
Flamme Violette
2011
version for piano and 5 instruments (Fl/Cl/Vl/Vc/Perc)
Duration: 7'30''
Nocturnes
2010
for ensemble (1/1/1/1 - 1/1/1/1- Perc/Pno - 2/1/1/1)
Duration: 9'
Stramps
2009
for 8 musicians (1/0/1/0 - 0/0/0/0 - Perc/Pno - 2/1/1)
Duration: 8'
SOLO & CHAMBER MUSIC
Fabula
2022
for violin, bass clarinet and piano
Duration: 12'
Album
2020
for piano trio
Duration: 18'
Cavall
2018
for tenor saxophone, drum set, double bass and piano
Duration: 6'
Streichquartett
2016/18
for string quartet
Duration: 14'
Sextett
2017
for wind quintet and piano
Duration: 13'
Drei Stücke
2016
for cello and piano
Duration: 8'
Zehn Stücke
2016
for saxophone quartet
Duration: 17'
Satz
2015
for violin and piano
Duration: 7'30''
Vorspiel
2014
for brass trio
Duration: 3'30''
Triosatz
2013
for violin, cello and piano
Duration: 8'
Quintet
2013
for wind quintet
Duration: 12'
Stade du miroir
2012
for 2 sopranos, 2 saxophones and percussion
Duration: 9'
Quartettsatz
2011
for string quartet
Duration: 10'
Flamme Violette
2010
for piano
Duration: 7'30''
videos
COMPOSER
Con sprezzatura (WDR)
2021
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Baldur Brönnimann
Con sprezzatura (OCNE)
2021
Orquesta Nacional de España, Anja Bihlmaier
CONDUCTOR
Falla: Danza ritual del Fuego (from "El Amor Brujo")
2024
Ensemble Dissonance
Ljubljana Festival
Die Zauberflöte (teaser)
2020
Teatre Principal de Palma de Mallorca, Orquestra Simfònica de Les Illes Balears
Lachenmann: ...zwei Gefühle...
2017
Danubia Orchestra Óbuda, Helmut Lachenmann
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